Last night as I returned from the BikeFest Kick-Off Party around 12:15am, I decided to go from Negley and Penn to the new and improved bike lanes along East Liberty Ave. Right before I got to the intersection of Highland, I spotted out of my left eye a young man running toward me at lightning speed. I slowed down, looked at him and yelled "don't do it, don't do it!" but when I saw that he was still coming at full force, I stopped my bike, put my feet down and braced myself. He hit me full force on the back, trying to push me off. I was yelling the whole time stuff like "why are you spreading the negativism?" "What do you think this will help?". He backed off as his buddy arrived, taking hold of my bike rack and shaking it, trying to knock me off, he yelled "gimme your bike". I almost fell over, entangled in my bike, but I recovered and then laid into him with some "fuck off motherfucker", etc, loud and hysterical that I was at this point. He finally gave up and laughed his way back to his friends making fun of the fact that I had told them to fuck off. I hurried, scooting to the well-lit intersection where I put my chain back on, and continued riding. My leg was bleeding where the chain wheel had pierced my skin in the commotion and shaking of the bike, but that was all. In that time, not one car had passed us on East Liberty Blvd.
These were young teens, well-clothed, cell phones (perhaps recording the whole thing?) the second one even had braces! I was sad and bummed that this is what awaits late-night bike riders in this corridor. I plan to go to the nearby police station to make a report, maybe they could cruise this strip more often during the night, to discourage the bored teens.
One thing I think is that they were bored teens on a dare, but if the person on the bike was scared and acquiesced to their demands, they would have gladly relieved them of their 2 wheeled property (not to mention the panniers with wallets, money and keys).
I think next time I'll take Penn the whole way or go out of my way to weave through Shadyside and Reynolds/Point Breeze. East Liberty Bike lanes at night? Maybe not just yet.
Caution on East Liberty Bike Lanes
-
-
damn. sorry to hear that. glad you're ok
-
damn that sounds so scary. hope you're doing ok today. what a terrible way to end a fun night. i hope you do end up making that report.
-
Mac and I had a similar but more violent incident - [I think] just moments later. Three young men attacked us while we were riding in the bike lanes on East Liberty Blvd just before Highland. The first guy ran in front of me and jumped at Mac punching him in the face. Dizzy and disoriented Mac stopped and was asked to empty his pockets. Mac refused and then the second guy came from behind and delivered a blow to the back of Mac's head. At this point I let out a hell of a battle cry ready to throw my bike at these A-holes . . . But ended up just distracting them enough to let Mac get free and get back on his bike. The two then came after "his lady" and grabbed my bag preventing me from getting back on my bike. The first guy was chasing Mac as he tried to ride away grabbing and getting a hold of the baskets but finally tripping and falling and rolling around on the ground. I think the two friends must have been distracted [either by my constant yelling NO NO NO NO or their friend falling] - I was able to break free and catch up with Mac. Very Scary! And so wrong.
-
Holy! I'm bummed that these two incident happened last night, or any night for that matter.
-
Things of this nature really piss me off. I'm glad to hear that you all came out mostly ok. Please if you are riding at night, protect yourself. Take pepper spray or some other protective implement (u-lock that is easily accessible).
Definitely file police reports. I hope you all heal up quickly.
-
It is a real pisser that ANYONE in their right mind would attack a biker. Really, I feel like saying, "Yes, I know rage too, I have felt it and I am pissed off at the mtf'n system!" But taking it out on a bike rider is messed up and really displaced. It's kind of cowardly...I mean we are such EASY targets.
-
Was this right by Peabody? Or on the other side by the Seminary?
-
Glad to hear everyone made it through OK.
I the future call 911 ASAP, don't wait to file a report. I got a rock thrown at my head and a knife pulled on me y a group of teens a few years ago. Called 911, 4 police officers responded, teens were apprehended.
Sucks to hear that this shit happens so frequently.
-
Yes, right in front of peabody.
-
And YES you are right. If I had not been in my own little world and called 911, the second incident would not have happened. Unfortunately did not have that peace of mind at that point.
-
i'm speechless, this is really freaking scary
-
Glad everyone is ok after such terrifying incidents. I can't even imagine what I would have done in that situation. I suppose if there's a lesson to be learned it is you always ought to call 911 as soon as you're safe enough to do so.
-
I don't know if it makes anyone feel better or worse, but this sort of thing has been going on in East Liberty "forever".
-
I'm pretty sure a guy I know reported having trouble on Penn in the Trader Joe's region one late night. Be careful out there indeed.
-
Sounds awful, glad everyone came out OK. Please file police reports.
-
Whoah, Mac and Jen, glad you are OK! How scary!
I've had bored teens yelling at me during the day/evening, but nothing more than that... yeah, calling the cops when you can is the best move. Obviously if the bored teens do it once they'll do it again, and probably right away.
-
perhaps you can have me take care of them next time.
-
you should definitely call 911 in these situations. i read a story on another pgh message board about someone who was grabbed by some high school students and knocked down during a morning commute (near negley and stanton) with the kids yelling some crap about "give me your bike b*tch". this person managed to get away from her assailants, later called the school, identified the child (by the unique shoes and hoodie he was wearing) and charges were filed (he apparently knocked someone else down minutes later and injured the person). moral: calling the cops (occasionally) works.
also with respect to dealing with cars that attack you: i once got rammed by an SUV (while I was waiting at a red light) by a bunch of drunks at penn and negley. i was obeying the traffic laws had front/rear blinkies (really bright/expensive cat eye brand ones) so theres no way they didn't see me. they pulled up behind me (at ~ 1 am), honked their horn (it was a red light), screamed at me & made fun of my bike/blinkies/helmet (I ignored them), then rammed me with their SUV bending my back rim (the light was still red). i was so stunned and scared by the incident all i did was get the hell out of their way and by the time i caught my snap they had already run the red light and were halfway to highland park cheering and screaming all the way like they had just won a championship football game. there were about 3 of the a-holes in the car so i refrained from screaming or throwing my u lock at them for fear of getting beat badly. i decided after that incident, that I would always call 911 and report it if anyone in a car/on foot f'ed with me in any way shape or form (be it passing intentionally too close, boxing me in, chasing me on foot, or just plain being aggressive). if they're in a car, all you have to do is tell the 911 operator "some drunk just hit me on my bike". you won't be stretching the truth because "only a drunk would do such a thing" and certainly (certainly !), you noticed a slight weaving motion as they pulled off from teh crime scene. because of the drunk driving aspect the cops will show up pronto and even if all you give them is a vague description of the vehicle/color/make they'll pull over anything in the area matching that description. chances are anyone hitting you or doing such BS with their car is i)drunk, ii) has warrants, or iii) is holding drugs/alcohol/weapons and will likely be going straight to jail in addition to any charges that may be filed from hitting you or being aggressive with their vehicle.
to this day, i don't know why i was waiting at a red light at 1 am on my bike at an intersection with no traffic (why didn't i just role thru it like normal? ... maybe the beers in me convinced me to follow the letter of the law). i was so spooked by the incident i rode on the sidewalk all the way home for fear they might circle back around and beat my ass or run me over again.
another fun incident: a fedex truck intentionally tried to box me into parked cars on butler at about 7pm one evening (no traffic, he had plenty of room to pass). he inevitably got hung up at the next red light, so i peddled up next to him, snapped his picture with my cell phone, told him i had his license plates and picture and that i was going to call his boss at Fedex and get him fired as well as press charges with the police. he turned white as a sheet, apologized, and limped off (slowly) when the light turned green.
hind sight is always 20/20, but hearing and reading about others "incidents" is informative and allows us to share "lessons learned" with respect to how to deal with these situations instead of our typical gut response of fight back with our u-locks (not always smart). thanks for sharing your story. i'll be on the look out for hooligans near the east lib bike lanes.
-
Rough stuff on ELB.
Here's something that sometimes works. But not always. Sometimes it would be foolish to try.
If someone is threatening you (moving, standing blocking, whatever) from in front or near your front, instead of trying to go around them, head directly towards them as though you are trying to hit them. They will get out of the way. With haste.
A person on a bike cuts a pretty big profile and to have that moving directly at you at 10 to 20 mph is a scary thing.
Not always possible or advisable. I'm not sure if it would be of help in these cases. But it's something to have in your bag of tricks.
Mick
-
thanks for that post. i never really thought of the "all you have to do is tell the 911 operator "some drunk just hit me on my bike"" part.
doing that shit as an employee in your work vehicle is possibly the stupidest thing you can do.
-
I don't believe that calling the driver a "drunk" is going to get any faster response. Saw a dude sideswipe a parking meter and nearly run over some peds on the sidewalk on Ellsworth a few weeks ago. Probably 100 witnesses, multiple people called the cops and it still took them an hour to show up (~10pm even).
-
found a bike mount for pepper spray.
-
holy crap..i suppose that's not difficult to make, but i guess glad it exists.
-
I don't believe that calling the driver a "drunk" is going to get any faster response.
Salty, I suspect you might be wrong.
One, labeling a problem driver "drunk" means that the police might have to answer the question "You had an earlier call about this guy, why didn't you respond?" (Long shot, of course, and they know it. )
Two, if the guy really is drunk, then your-word-versus-his just doesn't enter into it.
If there is some evidence of drunkenness, like weaving, report it.
The police might not respond depending on what else is on their plate (Murders, public nudity, donuts, whatever.)
Mick
-
Sure, calling a driver drunk probably won't *increase* response time - I'm just saying it doesn't mean they'll be there in 10 seconds flat either.
Anyways, back to the original topic, it definitely sucks that there are people out there doing that stuff. Maybe we should have a "self-defense for cyclists" class, honestly I'd have no idea what to do, is "turning the tables" like you suggested earlier a good idea (against a group of people - not against an SUV obviously :)
-
FWIW, I can tell you what *not* to do if a FedEx/UPS truck cuts you off. Don't pound on the side of the truck, because when the driver hears the loud noise and slams on his brakes, that big side mirror comes for your head in a big hurry...
-
I love the IDEA of a pepper spray bicycle mount, but would almost certainly forget to REMOVE the pepper spray after the ride. I don't think I want to provide other downtown commuters, or my neighborhood punks with easy access to MY pepper spray.
-
I would think you would want the pepper spray strapped to your arm, not hooked to your bike. It's your bike they're after, in addition to your wallet.
-
well, i'm sure if youre touring, having it on your top tube would be nice to thwart dogs
-
i'm still kinda waiting for the day i get to pull my front wheel up into some bike-grabbing loser's chest and roll right over them.
when i ride through there (i live on stanton) i make sure that these sorts of idiots can see the 3 foot section of chain wrapped around my waist. they don't typically bother me.
another tip: don't use your front light through that section of town. these nitwits are not so much different from moths. not using a rear light unless you can bike faster than the fastest 12-16 year old can run might be another good idea.
-
Does Stephan Patchen know about these incidents. if I recall, he frequently meets with Police.
I would kind of like to hear what the Police suggest.
-
the most i've ever gotten in this area (which i ride through most every day) is, "hey, you dropped something." i'm not sure what i look like on my bike, but no one is unfuckwith-able, so maybe i'm just lucky.
the traffic in the area, however, has been worse than any other part of the city i've come familiar with over the past few years.sorry everyone's been having so much trouble with kids around here. i've heard stories about people in east liberty getting attacked by adolescents with swords, if you can believe it.
-
I'm very conflicted about the whole pepper spray thing... I would think a good shot of water in the face from a bottle would stun enough to give the time to get away as it does with dogs.
-
I think that may piss them off and still leaves you prone. Pepper spray at least immobilizes them for a few moments.
-
Well, pepper spray is like any weapon (gun, u-lock for that matter), it could just as easily be taken from you and used against you.
-
I would like to (respectfully) suggest that discussion about theoretical self-defense tactics is OT for this forum, and is better carried on with subject matter experts.
pocketa pocketa.
-
Saying "it could just as easily be taken from you and used against you" implies that there is a 50:50 chance. That's what "just as easily" means. But that is simply not true.
It is a very rare instance that when a victim produces a weapon to defend himself and the attacker persists in the attack and wrestles it away. The majority of the time, the attacker flees.
The best course of action is to resist, resist completely, and resist with whatever you can.
-
When I used to live in Wilkinsburg the only problems I would get would be people standing in the middle of the road, day and night. Usually I would just try to be nice and pass them saying hello but for the most part you would get yelled at or they would try to take a swing at you. Anytime I would ride through at night I would just turn my headlight off on these roads and no one would notice you until you were too far away. If you can spot someone before they see you this is the best way I can think of getting out of any trouble.
I couldn't imagine someone trying to tackle me off of my bike though, I would have no idea what to do in that situation. I'm glad to hear that everyone ok though!
-
I also just carry pepper spray around my key chain, people give you shit for having it but if anything happens to you its a hell of a lot better than having a knife and trying to stab/scare someone off. I know plenty of people who carry knives around, I don't know how great I would feel about having to use that on someone.
-
I don't get messed with by people very often but I am also 6'1", bearded, visibly carrying a knife and lock, and try to look extremely aggravated all the time when I ride. That being said, teenagers are the only people who scare me. I remember how much of a senseless hooligan I was and the shit we did without any thought of the consequences. Good luck everyone and sorry to hear that Jen
-
@spakbros- this is my tactic as well (though I'm an inch shorter than you.)
I also share your fear of teenage boys for much the same reason: I don't think the human brain's capacity for moral reasoning fully develops until around, say, age 25. In the meantime random acts of thoughtless stupidity and resulting horrifying consequences are a real possibility.
-
I've been doing more riding at night lately, and appreciate the cautions from so many folks. I had not heard of the attacks along E. Lib. Blvd. Perhaps the police in that area need to hear from us, to know that that area needs patrolled day and night to protect us.
Along these same lines, are there any plans to light the new bike path that parallels Penn Ave. through Mellon Park? I've ridden that a few times at night lately, and I noted that part of that trail is quite dark and hidden from street view.
Also, I'm wondering where one could buy pepper spray locally, if one were so inclined?
-
do you know any cops? the foaming law enforcement type is the only one that actually works well
-
That area is terrible after 9pm. It seems the ppl in that area thrive on hurting people. If at all possible everyone should avoid East Liberty after dark. It's not a good place to be whatsoever.
Reply »
You must log in to post.